This recipe was featured in Crowning Touch.
Jennifer Rieck | Medina EC
Casseroles have always been the busy cook’s best friend, creatively combining ingredients on hand into quick and tasty new dishes. Sure enough, this month our readers showed us that when it comes to casserole ingredients—from cheeseburgers to French toast—the possibilities are endless… and delicious.
8 ounces uncooked rigatoni
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pack frozen spinach (10 ounces), thawed and well-drained
3 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes (14 ounces), undrained
8 ounces chive-and-onion-flavored cream cheese
6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Prepare rigatoni as directed on the package. Apply cooking spray to an 11-by- 7-inch baking pan. Lay the chopped onion in the baking pan and bake for 15 minutes or just until tender.
- Transfer cooked onion to large bowl. Press the drained spinach dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Add cooked rigatoni, spinach, chicken, diced tomatoes, cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and pepper to the bowl with the onion and mix well. Spoon mixture into the baking pan and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Servings: 12. Serving size: 6 ounces. Per serving: 289 calories, 25.69 g protein, 5.28 g fat, 34.89 g carbohydrates, 5.73 g dietary fiber, 886 mg sodium, 13.26 g sugars, 54 mg cholesterol
Cook’s Tip
This not only tastes delicious, it is also a really pretty dish—especially if you use multicolored rigatoni pasta.
